Darkest Edge
by Mizuki99
Summary: Sequel to Darkest Fire. Semi-AU. With the date of the coronation rapidly approaching and a new threat lingering on the horizon, Tsuna quickly finds himself overwhelmed. And to make matters worse, the task force designated to investigating anything and everything that has to do with the Vongola has a new leader. How will Tsuna cope? Full summary inside.
1. Chapter 1: Loyalty Initiation

**_Author's Note_**: The long awaited sequel to Darkest Fire!

The warnings are the same as before: dark themes, minor OC use, fast action scenes and a multiple fandoms-some you may have heard of and some you haven't.

PS- thank my muse. She helped me lay out a few ideas.

**_Pairings:_**R27X/X27R, RX (I have no idea how I'm going to pull this off but I'll manage), implied Ver86 and a few others I can't remember off the top of my head.

_**Summary**: _ Sequel to Darkest Fire. Semi-AU. With the date of the coronation rapidly approaching and a new threat lingering on the horizon, Tsuna quickly finds himself overwhelmed. And to make matters worse, the task force designated to investigating anything and everything that has to do with the Vongola has a new leader. How will Tsuna cope with the balancing act that will undoubtedly follow?

* * *

Twenty year old Sawada Tsunayoshi was, without a doubt, bored out of his skull. His eyes flashed slightly as yet another nameless, faceless Family member knelt before him and pledged their undying loyalty to him. Tsuna smiled blithely down at them, his eyes reflecting their nature even if either of them comprehended it completely.

How many of them would be killed within the first month? How many would be executed? How many of these people would betray him? Thoughts like that circled his mind as, one by one, they kissed his ring and vowed their loyalty to yet another Vongola Don.

With the last of his blacklist annihilated, the Mafia had quickly learned that Vongola Decimo was, indeed, an Old Blood and was trained very well in the Old Ways. He would not tolerate betrayal. He would not tolerate insolence but most of all, he would not let bias cloud his judgment. With his council behind him (and the Elders breathing down his neck about bullshit that they should really learn to keep their noses out of), Tsunayoshi would be virtually unstoppable.

Or so goes the public's opinion.

'_I sound like a dictator._' Tsuna thought with amusement. '_But then… with a family this big, I guess that's to be expected._'

The past three years had been real eye-openers for him. Kyoko had redeemed herself—though there were still some suspicions amongst his Elements—and Haru had taken to being under the Varia's care. Her training with Bianchi had ended and Colonnello had begun teaching her a wider range of martial arts. She still acted as Verde's handler but it was looking less and less like that kind of platonic relationship and more like Verde was actually _falling_ for the female Cloud and his feelings were _mutual_ (which was weird… but he wouldn't call them on it because it would be hypocritical of him—he, too, was _interested_ in an Arcobaleno, after all).

Hayato and Takeshi were still firmly together but Kyoya and Mukuro had split, deciding to explore other options. Chrome was engaged (imagine that!) to Ken (who had been so out of character in the days before the proposal, Chrome had feared the worst and Mukuro's cryptic statements hadn't helped matters) but the wedding wasn't going to happen for a few years as Ken and Chikusa (who was going to be the best man, ironically enough) wanted to adjust to their time as part of Vongola Decimo's Council and Chrome to her submissive half of the Mist Guardian position.

Ryohei had finished his studies and had completed four degrees in the different forms of medicine and one in biology, choosing to go through—ah—less than legal means rather than putting in _all_ of the time required as he had planned to do originally. It had only taken a year—a tiresome year but a year nonetheless. Takeshi and Hayato had studied as well but none of them really held any masteries.

Tsuna, however, had studied art and design on top of English literature. He could now forge any painting given—in fact, that's how what he would be to the public eye… an art collector.

The doors opened, drawing Tsuna out of his musings as well as everyone's attention. Tsuna allowed his eyes to drift upwards, looking at their… new arrivals and he resisted the very prominent urge to get up and rather childishly tackle the new arrival in an embrace where they would then proceed to leave this forsaken place and have some real fun.

But the vows were not done yet… and that meant that Tsunayoshi's butt was glued to this chair for another half hour.

He mentally sneered. He wanted out _now_.

"Impatience doesn't suit you," Reborn said almost inaudibly from behind him. Tsuna rolled his eyes. "But I know the feeling. I miss the power play between us."

"Oh please," Tsunayoshi said with a smile playing at his lips. "I know all about how the two of you played together in Milan a year and a half ago." Reborn chuckled lowly but said nothing. "I just regret that I couldn't have joined in."

The object of their attention had grown—but then that was to be expected. Physically, he looked to be about twenty two, twenty three… but Tsunayoshi wasn't fooled. This man had at least ten years over Tsuna. The only reason he didn't look his age was because his father had sealed him away using the Vongola Primo's Zero Point Breakthrough…

Even so. Xanxus had changed. His eyes were molten, practically glowing garnet in the shade of the dimly lit room. His eyes were narrow, traced with a natural thin black line. His hair was longer, now resembling Vongola Secondo more than he had previously.

"Fashionably late again, I see," Tsunayoshi commented as soon as one of the Storm squadron vice-captains retreated back to the crowd. There was a ripple of excitement pooling at the base of his belly now but then Xanxus always could elicit that reaction from him… even when they were enemies (though they had certainly come a long way from that time).

Xanxus chuckled lowly, his purr vibrating through the stillness of the air as he picked up on Tsuna's thoughts. They may as well spread some rumors throughout the entirety of the Family. "I'm here aren't I?"

While many probably saw it as a sign of disrespect, to approach the boss so casually, Tsunayoshi did not. He could see the underlying affection and something much, much darker and smoldering burning in behind his eyes. "But of course," He said by way of agreement. There was another ripple of excitement through the crowd. Tsuna paid them no mind. It was not the first time he would submit to one of his so-called subordinates and it would not be the last.

Reborn laughed behind him. Tsuna resisted the urge to turn around so he could read his… External Adviser's expression (he would never really get used to that). "I never thought I'd see the day you, of all people, pledged _undying loyalty_ to the one person you sought to destroy almost seven years ago."

"Just like an assassin." Xanxus said, smiling like a serpent. "You can't let the past be the past."

Tsuna's eyes narrowed as a sinking feeling of impatience began to flare on the edges of his Will. He felt Hayato shift uncomfortably—though to anyone else it would look like a casual movement—as the implications behind the impatience hit him full force.

Oh dear, he thought. Their three-way relationship wouldn't be kept a secret for very much longer, now would it? Tsuna fought the urge to throw his head back and laugh.

"All for a good reason," Reborn said simply.

Tsuna inclined his head. "Now, now, Reborn," Tsuna said after a few moments. "I'm sure Xanxus has changed." Xanxus took a willful stride down the aisle, his Elements following in rank formation behind him. Each step made Tsuna's heart pick up speed just a bit.

"But of course," Xanxus said before he knelt, his Elements echoing the action behind him. He could see Squalo's eyes flashing with sadistic amusement. "It will by my honor to serve you, Vongola Decimo."

Perhaps he wasn't expecting anything in return. Perhaps it was the threadbare remnants of his father's lies that lead him not to expect anything, even from one of his lovers… but Tsuna would forever deny the way it had _hurt_, knowing that Xanxus flinched under the weight of his next words. "The honor will be all mine… my own."

* * *

Tsunayoshi looked good in power, Xanxus admitted without bothering with trivial denials, but he looked even better when he was utterly powerless against him, pressed against sheets and begging for release. Flushed cheeks, glazed amber eyes, skin slicked with sweat… all of it. Xanxus just couldn't get enough of it.

But then… there was one thing that made him look even better than all of that. When his back was pressed against Reborn's chest, neck craned back as the Arcobaleno assassin ravished his mouth with a hot and wet kiss—when Xanxus and Reborn had both marked him and the three of them lay in the bed in the aftermath of their intense love-making.

And in all honesty, Xanxus didn't know what it was that drove him to be so needy on that particular night either. They hadn't really been _together_ in the last three years, only being able to meet up on fortunate accidents, but their relationship wasn't just about the sex anymore so there was really no excuse for his control to strain the way it did—hell, even Reborn and Xanxus, two dominant-alpha males had connected on a deeper level, although their relationship individually was _mostly_ platonic at this point.

But the fact remained that as soon as the loyalty ceremony was done and over with, Xanxus had caught the Don-to-be in a bare moment, when his Guardian/Underbosses were making nice with the rest of the Council. He hadn't been able to get him alone as Reborn had been with him but Xanxus didn't mind. He and Reborn had reached an understanding.

The inter-Familial party had been abandoned for the sake of going up to Reborn's personal suite (as it was the closest at the time) to reassert their standing with one another.

And now, they were laying in the aftermath of it. Tsuna was laying on Xanxus' back, his head resting on his shoulder while Reborn leaned against the French double doors that led out to the balcony, taking a long drag of a cigar. "Didn't know you smoked," Xanxus commented after a bit.

Reborn quirked a brow. "I did when I was younger. I get a craving for it every now and again."

"So are either of you going to tell me what happened in Milan eight months ago?" Tsuna asked causally.

Xanxus raised an eyebrow at the adult Arcobaleno. Reborn hadn't told him? The assassin laughed. "I'm letting him brew in suspense. He hasn't stopped asking. I'm debating the merits of making him _beg_."

Xanxus shouldn't have taken the bait, he really shouldn't have, but the way Tsuna's expression pinched was too funny. "Haven't we already made him beg?" Ah. There was that endearing shade of red. Really. He was too fun to tease.

Reborn only laughed.

* * *

"I hope you won't make it a habit to leave a party in the middle of it being thrown." Timoteo commented in what should have been a casual manner if it hadn't been for the fact that he had that stern look in his eye.

Tsuna made a noncommittal sound. "It's Xanxus' fault." He said in the same, flippantly casual manner that the Ninth had tried to aim for.

"How?"

"He wanted to… reaffirm our affinities." He inclined his head as though he were considering which shade of blue would be best for the mini-mansion that would soon act as a vacationing home on one of the small islands just off of the coast of Sicily. Timoteo made a sound akin to a dying animal which made Tsunayoshi look up and tilt his head almost innocently (almost innocently because he _knew_ Xanxus hadn't told his adoptive father anything). "You mean he hadn't told you?"

"Told me what, precisely?" Timoteo's voice was pitched oddly.

Tsuna smiled a sunny little smile that was far too pleasant to be genuine. He really shouldn't be taking advantage of an old man's mental instability but his embitterment towards both the Ninth and Iemitsu made it so he didn't care in the slightest that he was about to drop a bombshell of colossal proportions on him. "That he's in a three-way relationship with the two of us." Tsuna said, holding up his and Reborn's intertwined fingers. There was a strangled cry from behind him shortly followed by a thump.

Iemitsu—who had probably been in the middle of delivering some sort of paperwork if the paper fluttering around him was any key to what the blond was doing there—had fainted.

Yeah, Tsuna thought as his father convulsed on the floor, frothing at the mouth. Tsuna could get used to this.

* * *

FBI Agent Sierra Cortez was no pushover. She took her job seriously, investigating various branches of Organized Crime from her desk at FBI headquarters in Washington DC, but because of a recent injury, she'd been taken off of active duty. A suspect she had been pursuing cornered her and lodged a bullet in her rotator cuff. It was through some miracle that she managed to come out of surgery with minimal nerve damage and no restraints on her movement. She had only just been cleared for field work three days ago so she was still taking it easy.

But this... this was... she had no words to describe this.

She stood in her Director's office, watching him with no small amount of surprise. Was he serious? "Y-You want me to take the lead on the Vongola investigation?" She asked, her lips parting slightly as her throat seemed to constrict. The first word she managed to get out coherently had been a breathless, "_Why?_"

Raynold Hughes was an old man with hair-line scars on the back of his hands. They traced up his forearm before vanishing under his rolled up sleeves. His hair was salt-and-pepper and clung to his head like a helmet. He leaned into his palm, spinning his chair away from the cityscape to pin her with a piercing gaze. "Because you're damn good at what you do." He said. He threw opened a drawer and threw a file forward. She knew without opening it that it was the case report she filed after taking down the suspect that shot her. "And because I will be leaving the FBI soon." He shifted his weight forward and intertwined his fingers. He rested his elbows on the edge of his desk and leaned forward. "I've led this investigation for almost thirty five years now and I've never seen someone with credentials as good as yours, Cortez. Now, I don't give compliments often but I sincerely believe that you have what it takes to take the Vongola down."

Sierra blinked, swallowing back against the lump in her throat. "Sir, I—"

"Just listen to me." He said, raising a scarred, wrinkled hand. Her teeth clicked together as she awaited, somewhat eagerly, her superior's explanation. "Over the years I have accumulated knowledge about the Vongola and their role within the Mafia." He said. She nodded, knowing this to be true. This man was practically a legend in the legal business because of the number of Mafia scum he'd taken down over the years he'd contributed to the Bureau. "It is imperative that you know everything before you start your investigation officially so before you go out on the field with the task force I created specifically for this purpose, you _will_ be trained." His piercing brown eyes seemed to stare right through her soul and she fought the very prominent urge to take a step back at the fire that burned within. Did he mean that _he_ would be the one to train her? "So, without further delay," He stood up, an aura of authority and experience coming off of him in waves and intimidating Sierra just a tiny bit. He held out his hand, a somewhat feral smile aging his face all that much more. "Sierra Cortez… will you lead the Organized Crime Task Force in taking down the Vongola?"

Sierra swallowed. Taking down the Vongola… no one had succeeded before now... and opportunity like this didn't come along very often... but the danger... she would be a fool to take it.

She closed her slate eyes for a moment, steeling her resolve before she gripped her Director's hand firmly.

She'd be an even _bigger_ fool if she _didn't_ take it.

"Yes, sir." She said, grey bleeding into a fierce silver. "I will take down the Vongola."

Raynold smiled. "This... will be the start of a _beautiful_ partnership."

**_Tsuzukeru._**

* * *

**_Thanks for reading~!_**


	2. Chapter 2: On the DL

**_Author's Note_**: And so, the trouble begins to stack up. See below for notes.

* * *

_It was so bright._

_The light that enveloped him was bright, so sickeningly pure, that it felt as though it was making him just as pure. It seemed to cling to his very essence, cleansing it of all impurities, stripping it and recreating it with a burden that was unfair to someone like him—someone whose only crime was by association._

_Tsuna twisted and writhed and arched in valiant but futile attempts to escape the too-pure nothingness that surrounded him, suffocated him._

_He pried his blinded eyes open and reached out unseeingly. He grasped at the beams of vibrant orange light, catching something in his palm. Instinctively, he brought it close to him and curled around it as a sphere of energy tightened around him. It wrapped around him, dragging the purity with it while something dark and sinister closed around him and that sickening purity._

_They were trapped._

_There was no escape for them anymore—_

Tsuna woke with a violent jerk, one hand flying to his chest, the other flying to the gun hidden in a compartment under his bedside table as tendrils of sleep clung to his half-conscious mind. It took him a few moments to regain his footing but once he did, he slowly let his fingers uncurl from the weapon Reborn had stored in his room hours before the ceremony had begun (one that was painstakingly tedious and took up over half of the night, might he add. He was thankful it ended early due to his departure the night before).

But traditions were traditions, he mused.

"_It is a tradition I found rather tedious myself._"

"Hasn't anyone ever told you it's impolite to eavesdrop on someone else's thoughts?" Tsuna asked lightly, stepping out of bed and meeting the phantom's gaze effortlessly. The phantom in question only inclined his head.

If he was going to pursue further conversation, it was interrupted when there was a knock at his door. He met the guest half-way and blinked. "Squalo." He said, somewhat surprised. The Rain assassin's mouth quirked.

"Did I wake you? Sorry."

"I was already awake." Tsuna said, stepping out. "But since you're here, you can join me for an evening walk. Reborn and Xanxus would have my head if they realized I snuck out this late at night without a guide."

"Did you have a destination in mind?" Squalo asked, falling into step with his Don (because really, he'd only ever have one Sky).

"Not really." Tsuna admitted with an amused quirk of his lips. "Why did you come to my room?"

Squalo cocked his head to the side. "Xanxus asked me to check in on you while he put in a late night at the office at the Varia's estate." Which, if Tsuna remembered properly, was located well across the plot of land that Vongola had reserved for their main headquarters—that also meant that Tsuna wouldn't be seeing him tonight either.

Just his luck too. Reborn had disappeared shortly after announcing their three-way relationship to Iemitsu too.

The two of them fell into a compatible silence, weaving in and out of the shadows to avoid the late night staff that still lingered around the mansion at this time. Tsuna used the silence to mull over his dream (and to sulk, much to Squalo's amusement).

What could it mean? The purity that he had brought into his very core was obviously the Arcobaleno curse—despite the fact that he had yet to tap into the power the pacifier had to offer (which mean the curse was still in a nullified state and therefore wasn't eating away at his life force)… but what was that sinister darkness that had enveloped him?

Could it have been the Vendice? Or was it something much more dangerous?

A chill ran through him and he was hard-pressed to force it aside. How could there have been _anything_ more dangerous than the Vendice?

A hand landed on his shoulder and Tsuna spun around, dropping low to the ground and lashing out with a foot. His opponent leapt back deftly before raising his hands. "Easy, Sawada. It's only me." Squalo said carefully. "What's got you so jumpy?" Tsuna blinked and realized that Squalo was stopping him from running into a grandfather clock. He felt a dull flush spread over his nose—something that hadn't happened to him in a while.

Tsuna opened his mouth to answer but cuts off when he feels a chill run down his spine and he knew that this had nothing to do with his previous thoughts. He motions for Squalo to be quiet and masks his presence carefully. Beside him, Squalo does the same.

That's when Tsuna feels a very familiar presence wash over his skin. '_Otou-san?_' He thought, frowning. What could his father be doing this late at night? Tsuna knew for a fact that Timoteo had retired for the night and that the CEDEF wing was on the east side of the estate. They were currently in the central part. He looked back at Squalo in silent invitation and the Rain nodded. The two of them slunk after the soon-to-be-retired External Adviser but Tsuna soon found himself pursing his lips when his father turned down a hallway that leads to a dead end.

Only it wasn't a dead end.

Tsuna knew that the hallway his father stopped in was one that lead to the underground tunnels that haven't changed since Vongola Primo's time. It was one of the only areas untouched by time. The mansion itself had been built and rebuilt, the layout never changing but the materials used constantly altered because of how many times it had been burned, attacked or otherwise destroyed but the underground tunnels always, _always_, remained untouched and few people knew that they existed.

Only the Dons and the Guardians were privy to that kind of information.

Which begged the question—how did Iemitsu know about them?

"That hallway is a dead end… do you think he's on to us?" Squalo asked, his lips barely moving.

Tsuna shook his head. "Things are not always as they seem in this place." He said in an equally quiet voice. "There are a series of tunnels that lead under the estate. It's the only part of the mansion that's untouched by time and the elements. It holds all artifacts that relate to the original Vongola Family. Daemon had it built in the aftermath of his betrayal. It was the reason Secondo had him executed."

Vongola's history, Tsuna thought, was a tragic and bloody one. The tunnels had been Daemon's way of atoning for his betrayal after Elena had died. He never found out _why_ Giotto didn't stay and fight but Tsuna knew that if he had, his guilt would have doubled or even tripled and _no one_, not even Daemon Spade, deserved to have that kind of guilt.

After all, what Elena—his female counterpart—did before her untimely demise, was punishment enough.

Squalo looked like he wanted to ask but restrained himself because the wall opened up to reveal a downward spiral staircase. The two of them moved forward, sliding through the entrance before it could close all the way and following Iemitsu down the staircase.

Tsuna glanced back at Squalo who scanned his surroundings while being alert of what was in front of him at all times. He'd have to talk to him about this later.

He came to a stop and grabbed Squalo's arm, ducking into a cubby created by two bookshelves. Tsuna made sure his presence was still subdued and ignored the way he and Squalo were crammed in an almost intimate position—he says almost intimate because Squalo was not his therefore he could ignore the way their bodies were so close that not even a piece of paper could slide between them, but he would admit that this would be totally awkward in the aftermath if whatever they found out wasn't worth it.

Something told him that this _would_ be worth it, though, so he refrained from acknowledging Squalo's discomfort.

"You're late." Iemitsu said shortly. Tsuna could tell without seeing his face that the man was frowning. Honestly, he thought. That man frowned as much as Hayato did. Tsuna wished he could see the person Iemitsu was talking to but their angle wasn't a good one and one glance at Squalo told Tsuna that he couldn't see Iemitsu's companion either. "Nevermind," He said, without waiting for a reply. "I don't care for excuses. Your orders are simple. Keep an eye on Tsunayoshi. His reckless abandonment has left the Vongola with far too few allies and _way too many_ questionable acquaintances." Tsuna sneered—still on about Verde and the blacklist.

'_I've got news for you, Iemitsu. The darkest fires often burn the hottest and the hotter the flame, the more than can be destroyed in the end. Will you be part of the damage path?_' He thought.

"What will you do?"

Damn it. His luck sucked tonight. His companion was masking their voice, the paranoid bastard, so Tsuna and Squalo had no way of identifying them from their voice.

He heard Iemitsu shift his weight. "For now, nothing."

"And later?"

"…I plan on putting Sawada Tsunayoshi in his place."

* * *

"Here," Squalo handed him a tape recorder after they'd slipped out of the chamber and went back to Tsuna's room to talk about what they'd heard.

"Thanks." Tsuna's hands fell to his lap. "I'll go over the contents later and give you a copy so you can help me investigate." He paused. "I don't need to tell you that those tunnels are a secret but can I ask that you keep this from the rest of the Varia?" Squalo nodded silently. "Thanks, Squalo." Tsuna smiled slightly before he made a move to stand up.

His action was cut off, however, when a flash that only he could see flared in his eyes. A haunting string of words crossed his mind and he found his lips moving in accordance with the words as they formed in his mind.

"_The Light has faded from view, the Night has settled. Hide the truth and all will come crashing down. Deceive them to protect them but know that all illusions shatter like the surface of a lake, rippled by a stone. All will come to an end. Speak the truth and the Light will appear once again._"

And then all faded to black.

Xanxus let out a long string of curses when yet another incompetent lackey dropped off their reports for the next month and a half. When he'd said he'd dedicate the rest of the evening to paperwork, he didn't mean that all of the assholes could drop off their overdue reports and have them signed as well.

Oh, he needed to shoot something.

"You look happy." Reborn said amusedly from the balcony. Xanxus stiffened slightly, his hand curling around the fountain pen for a moment before loosening.

"Just. Fucking. Peachy." He sneered as he signed the paper with a little more force than necessary."I'm surprised you aren't with Tsunayoshi."

"Tsunayoshi isn't in his rooms. I believe he snuck out for a midnight stroll with your Rain. I caught them on one of the security cameras so it's not as though he isn't safe." Reborn shrugged eloquently. "That is not why I'm here though."

"Of course not." Xanxus said mildly, setting the pen down and rubbing the ache out of his hand. "You're here because of that prick, Iemitsu." Never let it be said that Xanxus couldn't connect the dots—although, after their talk about a year and a half ago, it wasn't that hard to guess.

"—

_"Who do you think attacked Tsunayoshi that night?" Reborn asked as he packed the rest of his carry on. The two of them had met up accidentally while they were on a run and their missions had ended in a dual investigation—not that Xanxus minded._

_"I think that Iemitsu did it." Reborn's eyebrows shot up._

_"Why?"_

_"He wants me declawed." Xanxus snorted. "The only logical explanation would be to frame me for an assassination attempt I didn't commit **or** to threaten the people I'm most willing to lay down my life for."_

_Reborn smirked. "Admitting that you care for him so soon?"_

_"Are you denying it?" Xanxus countered._

_"Touché."_

—"

They hadn't finished their conversation and the next time that they met, in Berlin, they had been far too… _busy_… to get around to catching up from where they left off. Tonight, however, that was not the case.

Although Xanxus wouldn't mind if they _did_ somehow get busy.

Reborn smirked, "Don't tempt me, Xanxus."

Fucking mind reader. "Who's tempting who?" Xanxus asked as Reborn swaggered over to the desk and leaned casually against it. His eyes traced over Reborn's backside for a moment before he looked back up at a too-smug smirk.

"We have a conversation to finish, you horny dog." Reborn said, helping himself to a glass of scotch. "What happens _after the_ fact…" Reborn trailed off, giving Xanxus a significant once-over. "Well, we'll see."

Xanxus picked up his pen and signed yet _another_ report to distract himself from the implications. He could already feel the heat coiling at the base of his belly. "About the attack. Why are you bringing it up? The investigation's gone cold." It had been three years since the attack and the Ninth was _still_ pushing their resources. Granted, Xanxus thought, the man had the right to be overprotective because Tsunayoshi was his _last_ heir but… three years? That was kind of pushing it—and besides, did the man honestly think that the attacker was dumb enough to strike again with things still hot (because at this point, there was no doubt in any of the higher echelons' minds that it was an inside job)?

"You know that Colonnello requested a transfer, right?" Reborn asked. "Shortly after Tsuna dropped the Vendice bomb on us?" Xanxus grunted in confirmation as he read over a maternity leave request—from a fucking _male_, no less. What the hell was this? "Well, I asked Colonnello to keep his eyes out and he called me the night before we arrived here in Italy—apparently, Iemitsu has been meeting with someone for the past six months and has arranged to start meeting this mysterious someone in person."

"Does Tsunayoshi know about this?" Xanxus asked, looking up at him with a frown etched into his brow.

"No." Reborn admitted. "I'm not going to tell him yet. I want to investigate this further because if I go in even half cocked without proof, I'll be eviscerated regardless of my standing as an Arcobaleno."

"Why would they go that far? Aren't you like the Council's favorite?" The Council was on par with the Vendice themselves. They were old Dons, Guardians, and assassins that refused to get out of the game. They were the ones that took care of the trials and the executions. They were judge, jury and executioner and, if need be, they were the ones that got the information for Vendice.

Or Double-oh-seven Mafia style, as Tsuna said it.

That boy watched too many movies.

"Not recently, no." Reborn mused. "Mostly because they believe the whole kidnapping fiasco three years ago was my fault. I told them they could take it up their asses."

"Even with Tsunayoshi testifying on your behalf?" Xanxus raised an eyebrow. He knew those old fuckers were stuck up but he didn't thick they were _that_ stuck up.

"Even with Dame-Tsuna testifying on my behalf." Reborn took off his fedora and raked a hand through his hair.

Xanxus blew out a breath. "So? Do you want me to pull some strings? Lal used to serve as the Varia's Rain before I gave her the boot." And hadn't _that_ ended badly? She hated his guts for his demotion but he didn't want someone who was loyal to that old bat Tyr in _his_ squad.

Reborn looked startled for a fraction of a second before he smirked. "It's like you read my mind."

* * *

Squalo caught Sawada as he fell, his eyes narrowing as the implications of this… situation… finally dawned on him.

Sawada was an Arcobaleno now and from the looks of it, no one else knew about it yet.

Oh, it was no secret that the Sky Arcobaleno were Seers and that they were prone to blacking out after their prophecies were formed and Viper had included the Varia in on her business as an Arcobaleno because it wasn't just her that was being affected by it anymore. It was all of the Vongola.

But this… this was… Squalo didn't know what this was.

_Hide the truth and all will come crashing down_. Squalo knew what that meant.

Sawada was hiding something from them—something _more_ than just his status as an Arcobaleno.

Squalo knew that he had a snowball's chance in hell at getting the information out of Sawada but it was too soon to tell anyone about his suspicions because he lacked definite _proof_—but just because he'd refrain from telling anyone didn't mean he wouldn't confront Sawada when he woke up, if only to satiate his curiosity.

Not to mention…

There was also that whole mess with Iemitsu. Squalo didn't know what he was up to and Sawada said—not _said_, exactly, but implied, Squalo thought—that he wanted to look into Iemitsu's extracurricular activities in the underground tunnels.

His blue-grey eyes narrowed slightly even as he pulled the covers up to Tsuna's chest.

Why did he get the feeling that shit was going to hit the fan by the bucket load?

**_Tsuzukeru._**

* * *

**_Notes:_ ** I didn't mark the scenes that these go with. (I'm sorry!)

1 - I may or may not have mentioned this in the previous fic but Daemon's betrayal was slightly different. I had a headcanon back when I saw the Inheritence Succession sub-arc in the anime and it still applied even after the whole Shimon arc. I won't tell because that'll spoil almost half of the plot I have planned for this.

2 - Okay, I was watching Labyrinth (and getting a major plot bunny that would replace the Future and Arcobaleno arcs) when I was typing this. This line is taken from when Sarah sees Ludo for the fist time. She says, "Well I'm not afraid. Things are not always what they seem in this place."

3 - I have no idea where this quote came from but it goes "The darkest fires burn the hottest. The hottest fires destroy the most. That which is destroyed by those savage flames can rise from the ashes to be reborn." I tried to google it but nothing came up. That was the inspiration behind the title for Darkest Fire.

4 - Partially inspired by the song Dancer in the Dark by The Ramsus. Not exactly a prophecy... more like a warning.

5 - Lawlz. Writer's cramp.

**_Thanks for reading~!_**


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